12 weeks

I've known that I still had 3 months left till my due date. But it struck me last night that I only have 12 weeks left till my due date. Some how saying 12 weeks as opposed to 3 months makes the time seem so much shorter! I started making a list in my head of everything I have to do to get ready for Zane, Then switched the  list to paper. (and obviously now, to blog)

I have to:

1. Clean out the closet in the kids room so that I have somewhere to put Willows clothes so that Zane can have the dresser. Newborns require a lot more space for their things than a 15 month old.

2. Organize Zane's clothes into the dresser

3. Set up the bassinet in our room, until Zane is big enough to be moved into the kids room

4. Set up the changing table (also known as the top of the dresser) for both kiddos.

5. Order my birthing kit

6. Make a tenative birth plan

7.Figure out and set up for birthing arrangement. As in, where to set up the birthing pool, etc,

8.  Finish sewing baby blankets. So far I've only made 1.

9.  Make boppy pillow cover (I've read a few tutorials but I have my own idea I want to try)

10.  Make a changing pad cover ( tutorial here )

11.  Make a nursing cover (tutorial here )

12.  A couple other DIY projects for after birth and for the kids room. The Kids room ones aren't super high on the priority list, but whew!





13. Prewash baby clothes

I also want to have my sister come and help me give the house a thorough scrubbing and cleaning before September.

I gotta get busy sewing and cleaning!


(BTW... you may have noticed that I referenced the baby as Zane. Zane Robert is the name that DH and I have come up with unless baby is born, and  looks nothing like a Zane. :D )

Can you find anything that actually works on Pinterest?

I did! And have! The most recent thing being, how to wash fruits and veggies with vinegar. Sounds pretty simple right? Well it was! And completely worth taking the time to do!

First you fill the sink with cold water, and then add some vinegar. There was no paticular ratio given, so I added about 3 cups to my sink full. (Note: None of these pics were edited)














Then I added these yummy looking strawberries and let them soak for 10 minutes. I did swirl them around a few times to help cover them completely.

Then I took them out of the water, rinsed them, and let them air dry on a towel. 














This is what the water looked like.














Totally gross, right?? Its tinted a weird color, and full bits of dirt and other unknown particles.

But the berries! Well there was NOTHING gross about them. Not even a vinegary flavor.

Before:













After:

I did the same thing with my citrus.



























Came out shiny and non grubby. :)

I also soaked my peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, mangos, pineapples and cucumbers. I was equally pleased with those results. Give it a try! Study's show that Vinegar kills 97% of bacteria on fruits and vegetables, and since I don't know who has handled my produce, or what else they have handled, its better safe than sorry. :)

Back to blogging

The last few months I have been itching to get back to my blog. Maybe its because sometimes I have so much I want to say that just won't fit into a facebook status, maybe its because I'm expecting baby #2, Or I just want to remember the little details of my domestic life and the funny little things my kids do. Whatever the reason, I'm happy to be back!

So like I said, I am expecting baby #2 in September. A BOY this time! I thought all along it was a boy, but I admit to being a little freaked out about growing little boy parts inside me once we found out for sure. It took me about a month to wrap my head around having something different then another Willow, but once I did, I went into full baby mode. I've got almost all the boy clothes I will need for the first few months, minus a few little things, and I think I'm driving Jason crazy making him look at nursery ideas. My favorite thing though is now I'm working on sewing blankets and some diy projects for the theoretical  kids room. Pictures will follow!

So far this pregnancy has been going better than my first one did. I did not have morning sickness! A little bit of nausea here and there, but mostly just  exhaustion, which is much better than throwing up all day! I felt baby (who is nameless so far) move at about 14 weeks, and Jason felt him move at 17 weeks. The last few weeks though he has been kicking constantly, and kicking hard. This pregnancy is also going by so quickly, only 16 weeks left already!

Willow has been growing up. She no longer looks like my baby....shes a little toddler. She walks everywhere now, and her favorite thing to say is "des" or "da" (meaning yes) accompanied by a vigorous head nod. Anything you ask her she answers in the affirmative. :D
Willow also has a new favorite face. Well, a couple actually.

The face scrunch....usually when she's mad or curious. Curious in this case.







The tongue. Which has barely went back into her mouth after her daddy taught her to stick it out.

The open mouth laugh. Which actually is silent. :D









Till next time folks!

That time of year again already!

Wow! A whole year has passed since I blogged...and we are in the middle of gin Season again! But to play a little catch up....

After 56 hours of labor, I finally gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who we named Willow MaeLee. She was 8lbs, 2oz, and 21" long. I will post her birth story at a later date.
Willow is now 8 months old, and pretty much what life revolves around. She is usually happy, loves her mom and daddy,but right now, definitely prefers daddy.
Speaking of "daddy".... Jason is doing well. He has spent the summer doing major renovations on the cotton gin, and is now ginning.  He did have a health scare over the summer, but with a change of diet, things are getting much better for him, and he even has more energy than before.

And as for me, well I am doing pretty well. I have been extremely busy this gin season between Willow, and cooking the midnight meals for the night crew at the gin. I usually average about 6 hours of sleep a day. But it's not to bad as long as I have coffee. Coffee is a wonderful thing.
So that brings you up to date on my little family. Other highlights this year would be.....

1. We have had 2 cats and given them away.
2. I had a good case of ppd but was able to get past it by taking....get this....my encapsulated placenta.
3. Of course all the milestones that babies go through.

And I guess that's about it. Not super interesting but sometimes life isn't. I will update again soon!

Busy times, baby times

Gin Season has been such a busy time here at Anchor Academy. But the end is finally in sight, thankfully. I am ready for it to be over, to have my husband back, and  get into the full swing of Christmas.
I love Christmas! Its so nice to have my own house to decorate this year.  The tree is up, garlands around the edge of the piano and above the door and  I'm considering getting a bit of mistletoe to hang on the light in the living room, just for the fun of it.

As for baby things.... they are growing. Or rather "it" is growing. Little flutters and kicks have turned into big kicks and I am able to watch my belly roll as the baby turns. It is so fun! Definately my favorite part of being pregnant. But boy is it a busy baby!  We decided to give the baby a nickname due to its rambunctious nature. and that is....



Thumper!

And as for me, pregnancy has its ups and downs but has been more ups lately. I was struggling with getting my blood sugar under control to try and avoid Gestational Diabetes. Thankfully, my blood sugar has leveled out and I have not gotten over 135 for several weeks now. This was a huge answer to prayer! God knows just how to take care of me. :) Also I had broken out with a horrible pregnancy rash that would keep me up itching at night. Usually this rash starts in the third trimester and stays till the end of pregnancy. But it is completely gone!  I am so THANKFUL! God is so good.
So all and all,  I am doing good. Loving life, My Savior, and my Husband.*

So the only down side lately is....

That about sums it up! LOL  

 

 

 

But really...

This was me at 12 weeks

 

And this is me at 30 weeks in the  same tee shirt. Who knew those great big Camp Joy tee shirts would come in so handy?

Yup. I am blessed.

*(Speaking of husband, He is so sweet to me. He cooked me breakfast 3 times this week after getting off work. I'm glad he loves me despite my crazy mood swings. I am blessed indeed!)

Ginning Ginning Time is here!

Its that time of year here at Anchor Academy. Cotton Gin Season. The time when schedules are unpredictable, Nights are late, and hubby comes home grubby.
We're only ginning days now, but within a week we will probably be ginning nights too, which is when things will get really busy!
The Gin is one neat place though. Other than being loud and dirty of course. But sit in a chair and use some ear plugs and it is quite interesting. :D

The cotton is loaded onto the Module Feeder, where it is then chopped up and sucked into the gin.

The cotton then goes through a series of giant machines that dry, clean, deseed, and rehydrate the cotton.

Then the cotton is pressed and wired into bales, bagged and loaded onto a truck to be taken to the storing warehouse.

Its so clean and soft when its done!

And there you have been given a completely feminine view of the cotton gin. :D

The Fun Never Ends!

I haven't been on the computer much lately, so let me go back to last week first. 


FALL!
 I went to the Dollar Tree and got the leaves and Flowers for my fall decorations. I love the way they turned out.
The wreath that I made for the door is my favorite. It cost about $5 dollars to make.

 

 My mother-in-law bought me the little figurines and they went just perfect with my flowers and gourds :)

 

And then I added this wonderful picture to my piano top and it was absolutely perfect. 

  

And then I made this little flower arrangement for my kitchen windowsill.

    

 Fall is so much fun!!

And then yesterday I tackled my laundry room shelf, which has really been bugging me since I need it for canned goods. And it looks amazing! It went from this:

                                                        

To This!

Now as for THIS week. :D THIS week I went to Springfield to have my ultrasound done. Our little baby was being quite difficult however and would not let us know for sure if He was a She or She was a He. BUT Tammy, who did the ultrasound, was 80% sure it was a........ GIRL!
So while Jason and I did change our vocabulary from saying "He" to saying "She" I  am not going to begin buying little girl stuff just yet. :) My dear sister-in-law taught me that lesson very well after she was expecting and preparing for a girl and had a little boy.
It was so amazing to see our baby. Simply amazing. She was perfectly formed, practicing her breathing, sucking on her toes, and wiggling all over the place. I though maybe people would think I was crazy with how much I was saying my baby moved, but she  really did move a lot! She wouldn't let us get a very good face picture, but I am pretty happy with the one I did get.

Here she is sucking on her toes. :)

 And her pretty profile.

It was so wonderful.  And I know I sound sappy, but it really was! :)

And just a few more pics I got over the weekend.

 

and...

Isn't God good to give us so many blessings?